"The first year has shown impressively that professional football training for young talents can be optimally combined with the individual needs of the children and their families in this way," said Simon Rolfes, Managing Director Sport at Bayer 04. "We will continue to pursue this innovative path consistently. The next logical step is therefore to expand the locations in order to discover and train the best players in these new regions and to retain them at Bayer 04 at an early stage."
Familiarisation training for the Büderich and Wuppertal squads began in September and will take place at the respective locations. The official teams from these two locations will then compete in the 2026/27 season.
About the project Bayer 04-Future Kids:
As part of the project launched in September 2024, Bayer 04 is setting up regional locations for young footballers in the U8 to U10 age groups, where the children will be trained by qualified Bayer 04 coaches. This provides the optimum combination of footballing development of young talents and the individual needs of the children and their families, reduces the time required due to short journeys and significantly increases the quality of training on site. In addition, the concept guarantees a commitment from the club for at least three years up to U10 level in order to create security and reliability for the children and their families.
Further information on the Bayer 04-Future Kids project can be found HERE.
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Here we go! The new season of the VBL Club Championship by WOW starts on Thursday, 16 October. The games can be seen live on the Bayer 04 app and on the club Twitch channel. Bayer04.de presents an overview of the first opponents for the Leverkusen eSports team in the new season.
Show moreThe autumn holidays attracted a host of Bayer 04 fans to the BayArena on Tuesday, 14 October. An open training session for the Werkself in the morning ended with the players taking time out for selfies and autograph requests from the 160 or so fans in attendance. During a children's press conference organised by Barmenia Gothaer, Werkself player Arthur and Kristin Kögel from the Bayer 04 Women's team fielded questions posed by the youngsters. Meanwhile, a trio of young players from the Leverkusen U19 squad put a smile on everyone's faces at a meet & greet event. And fans enjoyed a range of exciting activities at the Fanwelt.
Show moreThe Werkself host 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 at the BayArena on matchday 10 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on 8 November at 15:30 CET and is a Members matchday. Information on ticket sales.
Show moreThe Werkself host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena on matchday 12 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 29 November, at 18:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
Show moreWerkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 2-0 win at TSG Hoffenheim on the 6th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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